


Undertale head-canons and one-shots

by BirdyBones



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-02 02:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11500305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdyBones/pseuds/BirdyBones
Summary: A series of head-canons and one-shots.Mostly highlights from writing prompts or and fanfic ideas.Chapter 1: A Mother's Thoughts -"Toriel’s thoughts and feelings about the child she’d come to take care of."Chapter 2: Ghosts -"These ghosts are not the ones Frisk is used to seeing."Chapter 3: The Scent of Fire -"She knows what’s best for you."Chapter 4: A New Pal (Part 1 of 3) -"The iconic meeting, with a twist!"Chapter 5: A New Pal (Part 2 of 3) -"Internal conflict"Chapter 6: A New Pal (Part 3 of 3) -"Agreement"Chapter 7: Judgement -"The golden hall would have been stained with blood."Chapter 8:"Coming soon!"





	1. A Mother’s Thoughts.

**Author's Note:**

> Toriel’s thoughts and feelings about the child she’d come to take care of.

Toriel’s pen hovered over the paper of her well worn journal. The monster was perched on the edge of her chair waiting, listening for the faintest of sounds from the next room. 

The motherly goat monster might never truly know what had happened to Frisk on the surface.

Not knowing was hard to accept.

Not knowing why she wasn’t merely taking care of a child, but rehabilitating one.

The former queen of monsters had lived many years, and in those years she’d seen death, war, and unimaginable cruelty between both monster and human. 

So Frisk’s haunted look could only tell The worried monster that something terrible had happened.

The child had seen war, or something close to it.

Toriel recalled the first few days with Frisk. The child was so terrified, it took the monster hours before the monster could even approach. The human was emaciated, and bore scars from blatant abuse all over her body. The fall had injured the poor child further, and the first monster she had wandered into damaged her even more. Toriel was sure the small child’s soul would shatter at any moment. 

But the little human girl seemed determined to pull through.

Frisk had been with Toriel a few months. There were improvements, mostly physical, but there were also setbacks. 

The goat monster would often find Frisk gripped in a traumatic event that only she could see; the nightmares were constant. It both amazed and frightened Toriel to realize just how much punishment a human soul could endure without breaking. But it pained the monster to see the human struggle.

The other humans who had fallen previously would speak endlessly about the surface and their lives. Both young and old who found themselves here would mention their friends, family, or children that they needed to return to. There was always something up there waiting for them.  
They always, always would be upset when they found they couldn’t get home, that they were trapped down here like the rest of monsterkind. And despite Toriel’s warnings of Asgore, the murderous king of the underground, hell-bent on collecting human souls, they would still take their chances and leave and try to make their way to the barrier. 

But Frisk was different. She never spoke of her time on the surface; she never spoke of family, or home, or wanting to return to it.

All of the previous humans had wanted to return. All save for one. the first fallen human child, Chara. Like Frisk something had happened to Chara. But that’s where the similarities ended; where Frisk would cower, Chara would lash out.

The first human had been quite the handful, but they had taken to Asriel so well-

Toriel sighed, as she tried to ground herself to keep the painful memories of her past life from flooding in.

While it was decades ago, the death of her own two children felt as fresh as the day it happened.

But she needed to stay strong, for Frisk. Toriel needed to keep the child safe. Above all else the monster needed to keep Frisk safe from the rest of the underground.

The mother monster finished writing her thoughts of the day’s events into her journal. Tucking it safely away in a drawer, she turned to the other open book on her desk. 

Toriel had to make sure that an arsenal of jokes were ready for the evening when her friend at the door came to visit after Frisk went to sleep. The former queen looked forward to the company.

Toriel grinned as she jotted down another skeleton pun.


	2. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These ghosts are not the ones Frisk is used to seeing.

Frisk was really small, even for a human, so when everything in her room was made for a creature significantly larger-- access to anything is a task. Climbing into bed was never an easy feat, but when Frisk finally reached the top of the headboard she jumped off and flopped into the fluffy cushiony surface of the mattress, making a muffled 'oof' noise. She did this every night, and every time it was still as fun as it was the first time. 

 

Toriel giggled softly as she tucked the tiny human in, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

 

"If you need anything, sweetheart, I'll be right down the hall."

 

Frisk wanted to hold onto these moments for as long as she possibly could. There was always a nagging part of her mind that would constantly remind her that this could all go away, and she could find herself alone, back where she started, or  _ worse _ .

 

Despite her fears, the ambiance of the home began to lull the human to sleep. The fire popped and crackled in the next room. Toriel was in the kitchen humming and putting away dishes.The goat monsters padded footsteps reminding Frisk that she was not alone. 

 

The bed was warm, the pillows soft, and the quilt smelled of cedar. Frisk breathed a sigh and melted into the peaceful surroundings.

 

\---

 

A familiar rumbling voice tugged her awake. Frisk sat up quickly, scanning the dark room. 

 

After a pause, she slid out of the large bed and onto the cold wood floor. 

 

A giggle, a patter of feet, and a flash of glowing light blue darted past the open doorway.

 

Frisk stood for a moment, afraid, but the human felt strangely compelled to follow the ghostly light.

 

The girl quietly made her way down the hall. She could hear soft snoring from Toriel’s room. 

 

Everything in the home was dark, save for the glow of the fireplace up ahead.

 

When Frisk rounded the corner her breath hitched in her throat.

 

There was a tall, dark, writhing figure tending to the fire with one of the dull pokers.

 

Frisk was almost used to seeing strange things-- being able to manipulate time could cause a certain sensitivity, or so she suspected. They weren't really ghosts per-say; they were echos of past events. She saw a lot of them aboveground in particular areas. Always humans, they would just go about doing their thing and disappear. Never acknowledging anyone's presence. 

 

This was different.

 

The creature turned to face the girl, and it was  _ very _ interested in the human's presence. 

 

Frisk froze; her breathing was quick and shallow, her eyes wide with terror. 

 

The monster was twitching, and small parts of it seemed to be blinking in and out of existence. That familiar buzzing noise of static, voices, and a strange mechanical whine all swirled inside her head.

 

The haunting figure’s face was white and mask like, but lacked any human features like ears or a nose. The creatures large mismatched eyes were black pits dotted with small glowing orbs that served as pupils. Its mouth was a small slit. The right side of the face seemed to be melting, causing the eye to droop. Its body seemed to be cloaked in a black liquid smoke, the smoke was was the kind of darkness that Frisk felt like she could fall into. 

 

Silently the ghostlike spectre glided towards the girl, its movements serpentine, the darkness trailing then evaporating behind the creature.

 

Frisk felt so small as the figure crept closer. It stopped, arching over her, looking down, facing the child. It reached a skeletal hand out, palm pierced by a circular hole.

 

Tears flowed silently down the trembling human's cheeks as she looked up at the monster. 

 

It frowned, a worried look in its eyes. The little dim circular orbs darted about nervously. Its mouth was moving, eyes knitted with concern. It was saying something but the girl couldn’t make it out.

 

Suddenly a child, a ghostly pale human child, appeared in front of the creature. With wide eyes the ghostly girl stared at Frisk. The ghost’s wavy hair, tied up in a ribbon, her pale face was dotted with freckles. 

 

And when the ghostly child spoke, echoing inside Frisk’s head, it sounded frantic.

 

**_“Frisk. Help us!”_ **

 

A  sudden brightness caused Frisk to screw her eyes shut.

 

"My child! What is wrong?"

 

Toriel's voice snapped the human back to reality. The motherly monster stood by the living room lightswitch.

 

Frisk stood in the living-room in front of the cooling coals of the fire. She was breathing heavily, her hands were shaking, and tears were rolling down her face. The creature and ghost child were gone

 

Toriel knelt down to Frisk’s level and put a hand on the side of Frisk’s cheek. It wasn’t the first time the monster had awoken to find the girl in a dream state-- or in the middle of a night terror. 

 

"Did you have a bad dream sweetheart?" Toriel’s voice nearly cracked with worry.

 

It wasn't a dream and Frisk knew it deep down, but for a moment she decided to pretend.  

 

The child relaxed and nodded, lying.


	3. The Scent of Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She knows what’s best for you.

Frisk always carried a feeling of dread. It was oppressive, it felt as if a dangerous storm or a wildfire was rolling in, slowly, from a distance, getting closer, threatening. 

 

If she didn’t leave the ruins now, something bad was going to happen.

 

With shaking hands Frisk quickly checked her satchel of supplies. She flipped through the journal she had kept, making sure everything was there. It seemed as if everything was in order, the crudely made maps, various notes of the underground that Frisk had managed to cobble together, along with pictures and drawings of monsters to watch out for. The bits of information were mostly from what Toriel had mentioned in passing, things Frisk found in the ruins from other monsters, and a few tips from Flowey.

Apparently outside the ruins it would be cold, so Frisk grabbed her oversized purple and blue striped sweater before she crept out of her room, and made her way to the kitchen to grab more supplies.

 

When she felt she had everything, the girl adjusted the satchel on her shoulder and placed a note for Toriel on the kitchen table. Turning to leave, Frisk made a quick glance over into the sink. There at the bottom lay a familiar knife.

 

_ “You should take it, just in case, you know?”  _ Chara’s voice was startling.

 

_ “I only want to keep you safe. Please?”  _ anxiety fluttered around in Frisks soul.

 

The human stepped backwards shaking her head repulsed at the idea. The nervous girl’s breathing quickened, her heart raced in her chest.

 

_ “Frisk?” _

“Frisk?”

 

The human whirled around, Toriel stood in the doorway, her eyes were in shock. She knew exactly what was happening. The satchel, the sweater, that determined aura of the human’s soul. 

 

Toriel knew this day was coming, she just didn’t expect it to be so soon, so sudden.

 

“Child?” the monster forced a smile, her voice was shaky, “What are y-you doing up, so early?”

 

Frisk didn’t respond, her head was lowered, her small hands fidgeting. Toriel saw small droplets of water fall from the child’s face, dripping onto the floor. The human looked up, tears streaked her cheeks. With tiny fists clenched, Frisk ran past the goat monster.

 

“N-no!” The monster’s voice was frantic as she turned and darted after the girl. “Please!”

 

Frisk practically flew down the stairs, but before she could run down the hallway to the doors, a large hand grabbed onto her arm.

 

Frisk pulled against Toriel’s hold, choking back sobs. “I-I have t-to go,” was all that the girl could manage to say. 

 

The goat monster squeezed tighter on Frisk’s arm, and the human panicked. For a brief moment the child thought she could smell smoke; was something burning? Frisk’s face felt hot. Closing her eyes, she swore she saw flames.

 

“Why?” Toriel’s voice cracked, “What happened? Did someone harm you? Was it something I did?” 

 

The monster had turned to the child to face her, a large paw wiping the hair and tears out of the human’s face, before pulling her into a hug. Frisk could feel Chara wriggle, frantically pulling away. What was wrong? This was…. this felt, familiar.

 

“Mom--” Frisk choked, Toriel flinched at the word. “Something’s telling me I need to go, I feel like I got to fix something-- if I stay, something  _ bad _ is going to happen. I  _ can’t _ stay here.”

 

Toriel pulled away from the child, large hands on the girl’s small shoulders, the frustrated mother shook them, firm but gentle as she spoke, her voice was pained with fear. 

 

“There is nothing out there but your death, child. If Asgore or his guards find you, they will kill you, and take your soul.”

 

_ “Frisk, c’mon we have to go, please, please, please. Just run--”  _

 

Frisk closed herself off from their frantic urging. Chara’s voice was cut off before Toriel continued.

 

“It’s always happens this way. Each human who has walked through those doors has never come back.” The goat mother’s eyes were glassy with tears. 

 

The human fell silent and stared. 

 

“They need seven human souls to break the barrier that traps us here.” Toriel said, “Currently they have six, which makes you--”

 

“Seven.” Frisk finished the sentence. It was barely a whisper.

 

“You must understand how desperate the underground has become, they, they won’t give you a  _ chance,  _ they’ll just see you as their ticket out of here.” Toriel’s hands shook, tears began falling from her eyes.

 

A small hand patted her furry paw. Frisk shook her head and gave her a smile, her voice was soft. “Not all.”

 

There was a pause before Toriel pulled the small child into her arms again, she stroked the human’s soft hair while she spoke. “You are worth _ so much _ more alive, I, want you to understand, nothing good will ever come from you dying-- Sacrificing yourself to free us, I’d rather stay underground forever than have you…”

 

Frisk shook her head, “Can you trust me?" The child’s voice was less shaky,  focused, determined. “I- promise, I’ll be okay. You helped me so much, I feel that it’s time, for me to help now.” The human looked up at a distraught Toriel with a confidence in her eyes that held firm; it was something the monster had never seen before, and it was reassuring.

 

Toriel's shaking hand wiped the tears from her eyes. The monster sniffed and held back a sob, trying to regain her composure. 

 

"Do you know the way to the capital?" the look on the former queen’s face was very serious.

 

Frisk dug around in her bag, "I have a map, hopefully it's not too old."

 

Toriel's made a strained smile, "When you leave here, just keep walking, don't stay anywhere too long, or else the Royal Guard may get suspicious..." She shut her eyes, tears fell from her cheeks again, but Frisk hugged her tighter.

 

"Don't worry mom, I had a great teacher,” Frisk wiped away her tears with a sleeve “I know almost every snail fact there ever was, and I feel like I have a pun for practically every situation." 

 

That got a chuckle out of the monster, who hugged the human tighter. There was a pause before she let go of the child. “I don’t know if that’s very reassuring.”

 

The goat woman took in a calming breath, "Don't let Asgore take your soul. You have someone watching over you, and someone who cares about you very much." Toriel pulled away and stared into the child's eyes. 

 

"Just, please, be safe? I wish I could go with you--but, I’m afraid me being there would put you in harm's way." Her last words sounded pained as the monster pulled the human in for another embrace.

 

"I'll be at the door at three o'clock every day, if you want to come home..."

 

Frisk blinked away tears, "Thank you, mom."

 

After a few more tears and goodbyes, Frisk was on her way out of the ruins. Toriel watched the child disappear into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a different way for this iconic scene in the game to play out. I had this in my head for a while now.


	4. A New Pal (Part 1 of 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The iconic meeting, with a twist!

Hiding in the shadows of the pine forest, a stout, hoodie-wearing skeleton monster stood in the snow.

 

Sans watched carefully as the human girl left the safety of the ruins. He raised a bony eye-ridge of his malleable skull, and chuckled to himself. The skeleton watched as the child jumped at shadows and flinched at every little noise.

 

As Sans crept closer, he frowned at her appearance. It wasn’t bad; it just wasn’t at all what he had expected. The human was really… _small,_ and, _scrawny_. The clothing the kid wore was far too big on her. It looked as if a stiff wind could blow her over if she wasn’t careful.

 

Making a mental note to take the kid to Grillby’s, Sans began to approach.

Teleporting once or twice, Sans was so focused on the kid that he hadn’t noticed the branch he landed on. The fallen limb made a loud echoing snap as it practically disintegrated under his shoes. He retreated quickly, teleporting back into the shadowy pines.

 

Sans now understood why his friend wanted to keep an eye on this human. The human squeaked, whirling around, terrified, eyes darting in every direction. She pulled her small hands close to her chest as she saw the large branch that now lay in splinters. The human shook, and Sans doubted it was from the cold.

 

He sighed; this human, this _child,_ wasn’t a threat at all. A pang of guilt washed over him, as he realized what could have happened if he hadn’t made that promise.

 

\---

 

Frisk knew someone was out there watching her.

 

“Okay, this is fine--” Frisk whispered to herself, “probably a logical explanation for this...probably ghosts… or aliens...” Frisk turned quickly and began to make her way to a strangely constructed bridge. She desperately tried to calm her breathing, and fought the urge to run.

 

When she reached the bridge, Frisk heard the crunching of footsteps in the snow-- they were close. A large shadow swallowed her form, and she froze completely.

 

“H u m a n.” The voice was deep, hollow, and menacing. Frisk felt her blood run cold. She held her breath as the voice continued.

 

“D o n ' t   y o u   k n o w   h o w   t o   g r e e t   a   n e w   p a l ?”

 

She could feel the figure looming behind her.

 

“Turn around, and shake my hand.”

 

Frisk turned slowly, numb with fear. Even though she couldn’t die permanently, it didn’t make dying any less _painful_ and _frightening_.

 

The small girl jerked back in surprise as a skeleton stood before her. He wore black basketball shorts, and a blue hoodie that was lined with dull white fur, and on his feet were … pink slippers?  She stared, trying to analyze every detail of the monster that faced her.

 

\---

 

“Uhhh.” Sans lowered his hand slightly. The kid just stood there, staring up at him, eyes as wide as snowpoffs.

 

“Did you stall out on a loading screen or something kid?” Sans leaned in closer, eye ridges knitted in confusion. “I’m going to get in a _load_ of trouble if I broke ya.”

 

Frisk blinked. “Uh, s-sorry mister,” the human said quietly, fidgeting with her hands.

 

Finally, she spoke. Sans breathed a sigh of relief at her words and smiled. He ran his hand over his skull. The skeleton was about to say something but was cut off by a loud and obnoxious fart noise as soon as his phalanges connected with his cranium. His eyes went wide, startled. The ole ‘whoopie cushion in the hand trick’ had backfired. Not knowing what to do, Sans’ hand remained on his head, eyelights darting down to the kid.

 

The human blinked twice. Her face was a mix of confusion and shock. But then after an agonizing few seconds she spoke, “Don’t worry. It wouldn’t be the first time someone made a bet on a fart and lost.”

 

It was either the fact that this little kid made a shit-joke or the fact that she didn’t skip a beat and kept a straight face; he didn’t know which. But Sans let out a hearty whistling laugh that hurt his sides. And that did it, the kid’s demeanor softened and soon she started laughing too.

 

Sans didn’t care if it was because the situation was bizarre and awkward, or the fact she really liked terrible fart-puns, but whatever it was, a smile looked way better on the human than _abject terror_.

 

“Heh, you gave _me_ quite the scare kid.” Sans’ posture relaxed as he put both hands into his jacket pockets,  “I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton.”

 

The girl fidgeted, trying to regain her composure.

 

“Hello.” her small voice still shook, “I’m Frisk, erm, Frisk the... human?” Her eyes widened as soon as she said the word. Her hands clapped over her mouth.

 

Sans grinned and chuckled. _Oh boy, this kid. Lady you sure know how to pick ‘em._ “Heh!” He laughed, “So you ARE a human then? That’s hilarious.”

 

The nervous girl raised an eyebrow, and slowly took her hands away from her mouth. “It… is?”

 

“You bet! I’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But... y'know… I don’t really care about capturing anybody.”

 

The kid flinched when he said capture, fear slowly creeping back up into her eyes. Okay, hurry, change the subject. Sans was cursing himself; why was he so bad at this? “Uh, yeah, no one’s going to capture ya on my watch kiddo, anyone who likes bad jokes is cool in my books.”

 

The girl relaxed, but he knew he couldn’t ignore the fact that Papyrus was going to be arriving soon to check on Sans’ post.

 

“Though my brother, on the other hand, really wants someone to test out his puzzles. He made them to stall humans who wander into Snowdin.”

 

That sounded bad, fix that “He’s completely harmless, as are the puzzles.”

 

Better. “He’s never seen a human before… and he’s been kind of down lately, so do you think you can do me a favor, and just play along? It’d really cheer him up.” Sans smiled.

 

“Well,” the kid rubbed her arm and looked around in thought. She was hesitant for a moment, but then the human seemed to gather up her courage, and gave Sans a toothy grin.

 

“Sure!” she nodded, determined.

 

“Great, he’s just down the road there, past the bridge, you can’t miss him. You’ll probably hear him, before you see him.” Sans led the way, but when he didn’t hear tiny footsteps following he turned around.

 

The young human stood in the same spot. It seemed that any courage or determination that she’d had previously had drained from her. Frisk stood staring blankly at the walkway. Her mouth twitched; a cautious hand came up to her face. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head.

 

“You okay, kiddo?” Sans felt a familiar creeping sensation crawl up his spine. Something was up.

 

The human stumbled, but regained her composure. She smiled again. “Sorry.”

 

Sans felt a pang of worry over her health, but that quickly diminished as Frisk’s hand seemed to take on a mind of its own. He noticed the twitching and flexing before the kid did. The small hand sprang to life and violently grabbed onto the wooden post that ‘blocked’ the bridge. It was so sudden the kid didn’t have time to react, and fell with a squeak. With her hand still clutching the the wooden pillar, she looked up at the skeleton in shock.

 

This was going to be a bad time. Sans stepped back, his left eye exploding to life with yellow and blue flames.


	5. A New Pal Part 2 of 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Internal conflict

_ “No!” _

 

Chara’s voice was angry. 

 

Frisk tried to pull her hand away.

 

“W-what’s going on? l-let go, how are you doing this?” she cried. Her limb felt numb, and her fingers dug into the wood of the bridge causing the tips of her unfeeling digits to bleed. Frisk struggled in her mind and with her body. Fighting the unseen force, Frisk used her free hand to tug at her possessed arm. Blood peppered the snow with red dots as she pried her uncooperative arm from the old wood. She had somehow gripped the bridge so tightly that splinters had come away beneath her nails.

 

The human looked up at Sans. 

 

“Kid.” The monster’s tone was a low growl.

 

_ “Get away from him!” _ Chara’s voice was rushed,  _ “Hurry up and remember already.” _

 

“I don’t- I don’t.” Frisk trembled under the skeleton’s angry glare as he continued to approach.

 

_ “Nevermind. I’m here now. You’re okay,”  _ Chara cooed reassuringly, ” _ I got this, just give me control.”  _

 

“What are you doing-- don’t hurt him!” Frisk squeaked.

 

_ “I don’t even know why you like this guy-- do you remember how many times you died on his watch?” _ Chara hissed. 

 

Frisk cradled her twitching arm, confused, watching in fear as Sans approached. The angry voice continued _ , “I do. I remember all those times you were killed. Do you know how awful that was for me? He’s a liar, and a cheater!” _

 

“What?” Frisk’s own memories began trickling in. It was as if something had eroded within her mind and she was able to break free from whatever kept them locked away. 

 

A wave of realization washed over the frightened girl as she remembered Toriel’s flames, Undyne’s spears. Papyrus, Sans--

 

Chara struggled to take over, but Frisk felt a surge of Determination- a powerful sense of resolve that burned in her soul like wildfire. The sudden and intense force of Frisk’s willpower stripped away the ghost’s control.

 

The child clenched her teeth. Memories began to leak back into Frisk’s mind faster than before. The monsters of her nightmares now had names. They were the monsters that she had come to call her friends.

 

Frisk realized that this had all happened before.

 

“Hey…” Sans’ rumbling voice broke through Frisk’s thoughts.    
  
She could hear his footsteps getting closer. The skeleton’s face was locked in a stern expression; the human could feel the static buzz of his magic in the air.    
  
Sans halted his approach. The monster’s boney hands were up defensively as he stood before her in the snow.

 

_ “Do you know how many times you’re going to die under his watch on this run?”  _ the ghostly voice asked.

 

Frisk stumbled to her feet, and backed away from the bridge. 

 

_ “None, if I can help it.”  _ Chara spat.

 

Frisk felt a rage well up in her soul. She clenched her fist and shook her head. Her eyes were shut tight but hot tears still flowed down her cheeks. 

 

“STOP IT!” The child’s voice cracked.

 

The human turned and ran, but she only managed to flee a few meters into the forest before she fell face first in the snow.

 

Chara sighed,  _ “Frisk, I’m only trying to protect you.” _

 

Frisk pried her eyes open. She propped herself up on shaky elbows to look back over her shoulder at Sans, who had followed closely behind.

 

_ “And I’m going to start by dusting this comedian trash first.” _

 

Frisk saw that her unfeeling hand was clutching onto a large jagged rock. Hysterical laughter filled the humans mind.

 

\---

 

The skeleton’s breath hitched for a moment as the human struggled with some unseen force. Frisk’s limbs contorted about like a puppet fighting against the strings. One hand reached out and grabbed a rock, while the other hand tried to wrestle it free.

 

This was it, _this was_ _her_. The anomaly, it had to be. The nightmares, the constant deja vu. He clenched his teeth and readied himself. If they were getting started, he wanted to be sure he could end it quickly.

 

“N-n-NO, please! I don’t want to hurt anyone.” The human child shook.

 

Frisk pinned the arm holding the rock, and howled “let GO!” 

 

The possessed claw released the stone.

 

Sans gulped as he realized that she was arguing with herself. The human stood slowly and turned; she was as pale as the snow and her fingers, arms, and face were spasming. The one thing that nearly stopped the skeleton’s soul was that the girl had a glowing red eye.

 

The human child covered her face as tears spilled down her cheeks.

 

“Get away, S-sans. Get away from me, I-I’m so s-sorry, I’ll fix this, I promise.” Gasping, the frantic girl turned and ran into the forest.

 

The skeleton followed closely, but kept out of sight. 

 

The human tripped and fell, jerking about again, and shouting angrily as she struggled to her feet. She made it to a steep incline. With wobbling limbs, Frisk slid down the slope ungracefully, coming to a stop at the bottom.

 

Frisk slowly got to her feet and cried out  “NO! Chara! Please! I thought you were my friend!”

 

Sans paused his approach and stood at a safe distance. 

 

The human began to writhe as a sick laughter escaped her lips. Frisk stood, and the monster watched in shock as the girl began slamming her fists against her head. 

 

Sans ran over to the girl.

 

Frisk screamed while beating her skull with her small fists. “Get out, get out, get out, get out!”

 

The haggard child froze. She gasped for breath before turning to face Sans.

 

“I’m sorry, S-sans, I t-tried. But I came back.” She wobbled unsteadily on her feet as her eye flickered from a glowing red back to its original dark brown. Frisk half laughed between sobs as she put a hand over the now dim reddish eye.

 

The words she spoke echoed in his skull. But he didn’t understand. 

The girl began to back away as the skeleton approached, “J-just stay away, I don’t, I don’t--” she turned around and bolted for the forest once again.

 

"Wait!"

 

The exhausted child barely heard the monster’s words over the crunching of her boots in the snow.

 

There was a wet tearing noise, and Sans seemed to blip into existence in front of her. Frisk slammed into Sans’ chest and could feel strong bony arms wrap around her small frame. They both tumbled down the snowy hill.

 

The two hit the bottom of the incline hard. Frisk was thrown from Sans’ hold. The girl rolled once before she cracked her head against a rock.

 

Sans scrambled onto his feet, eyes darting about as he looked for the human. Frisk was slumped against a tree, covered in snow and dead leaves. The monster rushed over and knelt down, brushing at the snow and debris. Crimson streaked down Frisk’s forehead past her chin. The child was breathing softly. Her eyes fluttered a few times. Sans' sigh of relief was short lived when he felt a soft rumble from beneath his feet. Suddenly a familiar yellow flower exploded out from beneath the snow.

 

"Trash-bag!" Flowey cackled, and with a crazed leer he launched his vines at the skeleton.

 

Sans dodged as the thorny ropes shot out from the ground around him. The Flower dove back into the snow and popped out of the frozen earth in front of the unconscious human. Using his vines as a protective shield around her, the flower glared at Sans. “This kid is under my watch! ‘Cause unlike you, I keep my promises, smiley!”

 

Hands in his pockets, Sans glowered. "Fucking weed, I'm going to roll you up and smoke you!" he declared.

 

Unleashing one of his hands, the skeleton monster launched a wave of bones at the jeering flower.

 

Flowey laughed, "Oh, Sansy-boy this is just like old times again!" 

 

The plant dodged the bones and slammed another vine at Sans which caused a spray of snow to launch up in the air. "But I'm afraid I can't stay long, we have work to do!" 

 

The plant angrily lobbed bullets at Sans who dodged them with ease. Sans didn’t realize the flower wasn’t aiming for him, but rather, the ledge he stood under. A large pile of snow fell atop of the skeleton, burying him completely.

 

Flowey hurried tried to wake Frisk, shaking her. "C'mon meatbag wake up we gotta go."    
  
The girl's eyes fluttered open and she made a pained noise before her eyes closed again. 

  
Flowey rolled his eyes "Argh!--We should get you a fucking helmet!”

 

He wrapped his vines around the kid’s chest and tried to drag her body across the snow. Frisk fell limply onto her back. 

 

"C'mon Chara! Please!" the Flower begged. He released his vines to get a better grip on the girl, but before he could entwine her again, Sans intervened. A shoe collided into the side of Flowey’s face with a loud crack, launching him into the air. 

 

"Geeeeet duuunnnked  _ ooonnnn! _ " the skeleton jeered as the weed sailed far into the distance and disappeared among the trees.

 

Sans looked down at the small human crumpled in the snow; her head lolled to the side. Frisk’s eyes were unfocused, blinking sluggishly, as if trying desperately to snap herself out of the stupor. Frisk’s ragged breathing increased as the skeleton approached.

 

The monster fought with his emotions: worry, hate, anguish; it was all there pummeling his skull. Sans wondered if he should just walk away or kill the kid and end it here. 

 

But the need for answers won out.

 

"Hey, you're coming with me." He knelt down and  unceremoniously scooped her up in his arms. 

 

“We got a lot to talk about.”    
  
Sans grinned and winked at her--but the smile quickly faded. Frisk’s dark doe-brown eyes were wide, with tears spilling down her face. The kid stared back at him with a look of abject terror. The skeleton winced, feeling guilty. 

 

“Hey, don’t worry bud. We’re just gonna talk.”

 

Sans closed his eyes and concentrated. He mentally reached out to...

 

Concentrating, Sans closed his eyes and mentally reached out to a location in space and time. 

He latched onto it and pulled it towards himself. Sans could feel his magic pull taught. He felt a small tug as the invisible force jerked him forward; it was like stretching an elastic band until it couldn’t go any further- and with a thought, he released it.

 

Sans found himself inside his home. Thankfully his brother was probably still working on his puzzles. 

 

But Papyrus would find his older brother not at his post. And the younger brother would soon go looking for his sibling.

 

Sans moved the kid into the living room and placed her carefully onto the well worn green couch. 

 

He crouched down and fumbled a quick text to Papyrus while keeping an eye on the human.  The kid had her eyes closed now, her chest rising and falling in a rhythmic breathing pattern. 

 

Sans stood up and ran a bony hand over his skull thinking of what to do. 

 

His younger brother was going to be home in the morning, so hopefully there was time to sort this all out. 

 

Papyrus was hellbent on finding a human as currency to get into the royal guard. He didn't comprehend what would be in store for the captured human. Which was most likely death and their soul being used for the destruction of the barrier.

 

Sans sat atop the coffee table and inspected Frisk for a while. He knitted his brows while he positioned he girl more comfortably. Sans knew very little when it came to humans and medical care. Although his father had been utterly fascinated by every aspect of human biology, Sans had been more interested in their souls. 

 

Sans hovered his bony fingers above the child's chest, and the soul within the human’s body glowed brightly. It shined so bright, her tiny ribs were silhouetted against its light. Sans waved his hand slowly upwards. The human then tensed, and let out a small gasp. Sans paused, and placed a hand on Frisk’s shoulder reassuringly. With one final tug Sans pulled the soul from it’s human shell. 

 

When the soul was fully in view, it bathed the dreary living room in a red glow. The ghostly red tendrils that emanated from the tiny heart snaked back to Frisk’s chest like an umbilical cord.

 

Sans leaned forward. Looking closer, he noted that little red heart was clouded and heavy. The surface almost looked eroded, cracked and _old_. The soul seemed to be far too old to be in someone so young. But the Determination content within the tiny heart was like nothing he’d ever witnessed. 

 

The kid’s head turned to face him. Sans almost fell backwards in surprise; he hadn't noticed that Frisk had come around.. 

 

The human's eyes flickered red.

 

_ “Greetings, comedian.” _


	6. A New Pal Part 3 of 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An agreement is made?

Sans wasn’t taking any chances, and he was ready to destroy the tiny soul the moment things went awry. He watched as Frisk, no, this _ thing _ , perched in the center of the sofa and stared at him with a smile.

 

“Who are you?” San’s voice was barely a whisper.

 

The human laughed, “After all these resets you still haven’t figured it out? You really are an idiot.” 

 

The girl sat up, her movements so unlike Frisk’s as she stood- elegant, poised. Sans flinched and moved backwards.

 

The human raised her eyebrows and smirked. “Relax, comedian, I can’t do anything to you like this.” She gestured to his hand. “You have  _ all  _ the power.”

 

Sans still had the tiny heart caged carefully in his phalanges, as the thing puppeting Frisk’s body continued, “Besides- it wouldn’t be me that you kill. I’m already  _ dead. _ ”

 

Sans scowled, “You better start answering my question kid, don’t make me regret trying to talk to you.”

 

The human rolled her stolen eyes. “I‘m Chara.” She bowed. “Chara Dreemurr”

 

The skeleton balked, “The Royals’ kid? Chara’s been dead for decades.”

 

“Yes, I’m dead. We went over this.” Chara sighed, “These resets have really scrambled your brain. Ask some smarter questions; Frisk’s determination is coming back.”

 

Sans hesitated as his mind raced. Finally, he asked the only questions he could think of on the fly, “What’s your connection with the kid? Why are you here?”

 

Chara cocked an eyebrow at the skeleton and replied, “I thought you were the soul scientist. Frisk fell, and I woke up. I found myself attached to her soul.” 

 

While Sans processed this, the dead girl relaxed her borrowed body against the seat back and tugged at Frisk’s tattered sweater.

 

“So it wasn’t you who caused the resets before she fell.”  Sans looked over at the glowing red soul. Every once in a while it would flicker brighter like a flame.

 

“That was all Frisk,” the spirit answered, “She had her determination and power long before she met me. I’m just a parasite. Still, her ability is quite fascinating. Being able to reset time, to go back, even change things or choose a different path… Too bad it requires her to die to do so. Though, you knew that already.”

 

Sans shifts feeling an uncomfortable chill. “Why are you doing this?”

 

“Doing what?” she asked, disingenuously, “Protecting Frisk?” 

 

Sans clenched his jawbone. “You killed everyone in the underground a thousand times, maybe more, why?”

 

The human’s eyes grew dark before She looked away, “Because she gave up. So I stepped in to help get her out of here.”

 

Sans eyes flickered in confusion.

 

“Comedian,” she answered coldly, “I probably care about this child more than anyone else. She’s told me things-- Frisk thinks she died about a million times before she fell here. And she’s probably died a million more since.”

 

Chara tightened her grip on the sweater. “I tried helping her through the underground, thinking that if anyone could help it would be the monsters here… but mo-- Toriel tried to get Frisk to fight her, to prove herself. That’s when I knew something was wrong.”

 

“Frisk wouldn't fight.” Sans interrupted.

 

The human scoffed, annoyed “No, of course she didn’t fight. She's  _ seven _ . Even when mom burnt her to ash--She’d come back and--” 

 

Chara released the hem she had mangled, and paused momentarily to regain her composure. “She kept wanting to make friends with everyone, wanting to talk to you monsters. She tried and tried… Frisk died over and over. And  _ kept _ trying over and over. But nothing worked.” 

 

The human’s hands were clenched so tightly her knuckles were white. Chara shook her head, chasing away the bad thoughts, and smiled. “Monsters are just like humans; they’re cruel, and all they have done is try to manipulate, scare, or hurt her.” 

 

The ghost puppeteer stood, she took a step forward and smiled, “I feel stupid for feeling differently when I was alive. I’m such a fool.”

 

Chara’s voice shook with laughter, “You should all be left to rot. Like the surface, it’s kill or be killed down here.”

 

Sans went quiet, fingers twitching slightly around the small human soul. 

 

It suddenly felt very heavy.

 

The child crossed her arms and sat back down on the sofa, “The plan I had isn’t going to work in this timeline, so I’m going to let Frisk take the helm.”

 

“Why? Why not just go through and kill everyone like you always do?” Sans’ voice was hoarse, but he wanted to know.

 

“It’s either Asgore or _you_ that we can’t get past.” Chara rolled Frisk’s eyes. “Look, we’re stuck. I can’t get her to stay in the ruins and I can’t get her out of the underground; both paths are doomed to repeat themselves over and over until something changes. So it’s your turn to take the stage now, comedian. Frisk is waking up, and her pacifist self wants to make nice, so I’m going to let her.” 

 

Chara poked Frisk’s cheeks and grinned, “I just can’t say no to this little face.”

 

The human tucked a pillow under her head and laid back down. 

 

“Oh, one more thing. Do you suppose you might remember your promise this time around? You make it every time, but you never seem to like keeping it.”

 

Sans scowled, refusing to acknowledge the question.

 

“I’ll take your silence as agreement; you’ve done enough standing on the sidelines, comedian. Don’t let her die on me again, because I’ll be waiting for you when you do. And  _ buddy- you won’t like what happens next. _ ”

 

With that last word the human’s body fell limp onto the sofa. 

 

The small soul in San’s grasp flickered then glowed brighter with determination thrumming through it. A small whimper drew his attention back to the human. Her eyes fluttered open, no longer red, but a deep doe-eyed hazel. They were glassy and full of tears.

 

The tiny heart caged in the monster’s finger bones began to shiver. Sans released it, and watched the soul floated lazily back to its shell.

 

Frisk closed her eyes, and tears trailed down her cheeks. She breathed out a heavy sigh.

 

“Hey,” Sans said softly, leaning in closer, “Ya with me kiddo?”

 

There was a shaky sniffle and the human spoke. “Don’t.”

 

The skeleton raised his hands defensively “Hey, hey, I’m not going to do anything-- we’re just talking.”

 

“Don’t listen to Chara--” Frisk hiccuped “they don’t understand, they’ve been h-hurt badly too.”

 

“Whoa, slow down,” Sans said as he awkwardly tried to comfort the child, “You just sit and relax and tell me what you can. Take your time.”  

 

He hesitantly perched beside her on the sofa.

 

Frisks lower lip quivered “It was the coffins...” she sat up, hunching over on herself.

 

Sans leaned in closer to lay a hand on the child’s shivering back. She flinched at the touch. Frisk moved away, then stood.

 

“I have to leave, I just have to, I gotta avoid--” She paced, wringing her small hands before grabbing her satchel.

 

The skeleton stood as well blocking the path to the door. “No. You’re not going anywhere.” 

 

“You don’t understand,” she protested, “I need to fix things! Make up for all that I’ve done--”

 

“No you don’t! That wasn’t you--”

 

“Yes it was!” The child croaked. Sans fell silent.

 

“The basement, the coffins, w-we saw them all lined up like they were being honored or something. That’s when it happened.”

 

Sans flinched. He’d forgotten.

 

Frisk was shaking as she ran her hands through her sticky hair. “Chara was so mad, they were so angry I can still hear them screaming in my head; I couldn’t hold on any longer. Chara wanted to fight him-- Asgore, but I couldn’t-- there was even an empty container there for my soul-- Chara can’t understand-- they say Asriel died for nothing.” The human gasped for air.

 

“Okay, okay, stop,” Sans was starting to panic himself. “Stop, please, kid, calm down, breathe.”  

 

The human seemed delirious in trying to confess everything all at once. Once again he tried to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, but Frisk flinched away from him again- not even skipping a beat as she continued.

 

“I-I allowed this to happen by giving Chara control! It wasn’t what I wanted-- but it was everything I wanted!” 

 

Frisk’s face changed to something between sadness and frustration. She forced it into a smile  “But they gave me the strength. And it felt great to have that power...”

 

Sans had to keep himself grounded as the kid began triggering memories as she spoke. He gripped his jacket collar tightly.

 

“But you stopped me every time, Sans.”

 

Sans looked up. 

 

“Who knows what would have happened if I made it to the surface.” 

 

Frisk’s smile was warm but brief, “You saved _everyone,_ Sans.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to come out, it fought with me!  
> But I won, I think.


	7. Judgement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The golden hall would have been stained with blood.

From the darkness her vision slowly returned to an unsteady focus. Hearing was next to follow, going from a high pitched shrilling to a sudden honing echo of sound-- whispers in different voices, speaking at once, reverberating from the tiles and pillars of the judgment hall. The unintelligible words swirled in her head, getting louder, louder-- then, silence.

 

Though her vision was still blurred and her head was swimming, Frisk could make out the cloudy visage of a figure in-front of her. Bathed in rays of gold from the intricate glass windows, a hoodie wearing skeleton stood. Hands in his pockets, with his head lowered, his face was set in anger; his eyes dark, hollow pits.

 

Taking a step forward, Frisk wobbled unsteadily on her feet; the girl’s boots squeaked and her body jerked slightly to the side. She felt something fall from her hands. It made a metallic clang, then a slight plop as if hitting liquid. Looking down, the girl's eyes widened.

 

The golden tiles were covered in a deep crimson.

 

A sharp cold chill washed over Frisk as she realized she was slipping in her own blood. She looked down at the knife by her feet, and caught sight of her reflection on the large blades smooth shiny surface.

 

It hit like a wave; suddenly aware of the damage, she looked at her shaking hands, her torso, legs. Frisk took in a deep breath.

 

A wet rattle came from her stony lungs. Immediately, there was a sharp hot pain that raced through her sides, accompanying a grinding noise that sounded like bones rubbing together. Holding her stomach, Frisk coughed hard, blood spilled from her mouth. The metallic taste and smell battered her senses.

 

"Why won't you just die?" Hissed a deep and familiar voice. "Why do you do this to me? Why?"

 

Still clutching her sides the human looked up at the skeleton who still stood a few meters away.  

 

"Sans?" Frisk’s voice was gravelly. It felt as if she was drowning. Her entire body was shivering with cold. She held out a bloodied hand, reaching.

 

The skeleton didn't say a word. Head lowered, breathing heavily, he pulled his hands out of his jacket pockets and began walking forward.

 

"Sans?" Frisks voice was strained, her hand still reaching, blood dripping from the tips of her trembling fingers.

 

Sans' eyes went dark. His posture, menacing. He clenched his skeletal fists.

 

"Sans, what's going on…?"

 

His skull snapped up.

 

"ENOUGH!" Sans roared, eye erupting into a bright blue and yellow flame. He thrust his hand forward in the human’s direction. It too began to glow blue. "JUST SHUT UP!" He clenched his fist. "DIE. You little, FREAK."

 

Frisk choked out a desperate sob as Sans grabbed onto her soul roughly, causing her body to jerk violently to the side. Her chest was glowing; it was so bright that it made her ribcage visible.

Sans violently thrust his hand towards the floor. The captive soul followed its skeletal conductor's commands.

 

The force of slamming to the ground nearly knocked Frisk out-- the ringing in their ears started again, as she rolled onto her stomach, spitting out blood and bits of broken teeth.

 

She felt the ground vibrate beneath her. The human looked up to see a large, demonic, dragon skull staring her down, Sans stood directly underneath--it looked like he was saying something but she couldn't hear.

 

The jaws of the demon skull silently opened upon Sans's hand direction. Light began to gather in it's mouth. Frisk watched as droplets of blood began to rise, as if gravity itself was being tampered with. The whispering of the voices started again.

 

Sobbing, the human reached out a hand towards him again, but it was all in vain.

 

There was a muffled bang and a flash of light.

 

It felt like she was being torn to pieces.

 

 _"Can’t you see?"_ Said the voice, _"I’m only trying to protect you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what's wrong with this chapter, it feels kinda wonky to me! I decided to stop picking at it and just post it.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to point out any spelling errors or grammar sins.  
> This is my first time posting fanfiction of any-sort, thanks for giving it a look see!  
> Any feedback is always appreciated :)


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